36C10X24R0028.docx

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice

GENERAL INFORMATION

SET-ASIDE

Department of Veterans Affairs

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick MD 21703

POINT OF CONTACT*

Contract Specialist April Bloom april.bloom@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

POSTAL CODE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

EMAIL DESCRIPTION

DESCRIPTION

[Prepared in accordance with FAR 12.603(c)]

1. STATEMENT

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

1. SOLICITATION NUMBER AND TYPE OF SOLICITATION

Solicitation Number: 36C10X24R0028. This solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ) using simplified and commercial item procedures identified in FAR Parts 13.5 (Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items) and 12 (Acquisition of Commercial Items).

1. APPLICABLE FEDERAL ACQUISITION CIRCULAR

The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-06 effective 5/26/2022 and the Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulations (VAAR) 01/27/2021. The complete text of any of the clauses and provisions may be accessed in full text at https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far.

1. NOTICE REGARDING SET-ASIDE, NIACS CODE AND SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARD

Eligibility--Tiered evaluations under a single solicitation (SDVOSB, then VOSB, then Small Businesses, then Large Business) are applicable to this procurement. The NAICS code and small business size standard for this acquisition is 611430, with a size standard of $15.0M.

Any quoters that do not meet the following criteria will be eliminated from consideration:

1. (Tier 1 and Tier 2 Offers) All SDVOSB concerns and VOSB concerns must be Vet-Biz Verified at the time of quote submission and registered and small in SAM under NAICS code 611430 (as determined through quoter’s Reps & Certs) to qualify for Tier 1 and Tier 2, respectively, following SBA guidelines for certification as a small business. Quoters are solely responsible for obtaining Vet-Biz verification. The contracting officer will not intervene with Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) regarding the processing of applications. Quoter must not be barred, debarred, or suspended to qualify.

1. (Tier 3 Offers) All Small Businesses must be registered and small in SAM under NAICS code 611430 (as determined through quoter’s Reps & Certs) to qualify for Tier 3, following SBA guidelines for certification as a small business. Quoter must not be barred, debarred, or suspended to qualify.

1. (Tier 4 Offers) All Large Businesses (Other than Small Businesses) must be registered in SAM and not be barred, debarred, or suspended to qualify.

After this initial assessment of eligibility, quotations from eligible quoters will be evaluated using a tiered approach based on an order of priority as established in 38 U.S.C. 8127. The review will consist of four tiers. The tiers are defined as follows:

Tier 1 - Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns Tier 2 - Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Concerns Tier 3 - Small Business Concerns with HUBZone Small Business Concerns and 8(A) Participants Having Priority.

Tier 4 - Other than Small Businesses

Each tier represents a distinct set‐aside and will be evaluated in isolation.

1. ITEM NUMBERS, ITEMS, QUANTITIES, UNITS OF MEASURE (INCLUDING OPTIONS)

See ATTACHMENT A: PRICE/COST SCHEDULE.

1. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ITEMS TO BE ACQUIRED:

See ATTACHMENT B: STATEMENT OF WORK for contract requirements.

1. DATES AND PLACE OF DELIVERY AND ACCEPTANCE:

See ATTACHMENT B: STATEMENT OF WORK for performance period and delivery requirements.

1. APPLICABILITY OF PROVISION 52.212-1

The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. Addenda to the provision are as follows:

A. INSTRUCTIONS TO QUOTERS

1. All quote intentions, questions, and quotations shall be submitted via email to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer respectively: April Bloom (April.Bloom@va.gov) and Kurt Tanny (Kurt.Tanny@va.gov).

Key Acquisition dates are as follows:

· Questions: Submit all questions in writing to the above points of contact by 3:00PM ET on 12/20/23. All questions shall be consolidated into a single MS Word document at attached to the email.

· Quote Intentions: Submit an optional written intention to quote by 12:00PM ET on 12/27/24.

· Quotation: Submit quotation to the above points of contact to ensure VA receipt by 3:00PM ET on 01/10/24. Quotes not submitted directly to the Contracting Officer and Contracting Specialist, or received after the due date/time, will not be considered. Contractor’s responses shall be submitted in accordance with the instructions contained herein.

Quote Format: The submission shall be clearly indexed and logically assembled. Each volume shall be clearly identified and shall begin at the top of a page. All pages of each volume shall be appropriately numbered and identified by the complete company name, date, and solicitation number in the header and/or footer.

Page limitations are applicable to this procurement. The table below indicates the maximum page count (when applicable) for each volume of the contractor’s quote. All files will be submitted as a Microsoft Excel (.xls/.xlsx), Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx), or Acrobat (.pdf) file or compatible as indicated in the table. Page size shall be no greater than 8 1/2" x 11". The top, bottom, left and right margins shall be a minimum of one inch each. Font size shall be no smaller than 12-point. Calibri font is preferred. Characters shall be set at no less than normal spacing and 100% scale. Tables and illustrations may use a reduced font size not less than 8-point and may be landscape. Line spacing shall be set at no less than single space. Each paragraph shall be separated by at least one blank line. Page numbers, company logos, and headers and footers may be within the page margins ONLY and are not bound by the 12-point font requirement. Footnotes to text shall not be used. The use of hyperlinks in quotes is prohibited. (if quoter requires hyperlinks, seek approval prior by submitting a question during period established for receipt of questions—by 3:00PM ET 12/20/23.)

If the contractor submits annexes, documentation, attachments or the like, not specifically required by this solicitation, such will count against the contractor’s page limitations unless otherwise indicated in the specific Volume instructions below. Pages in violation of these instructions, either by exceeding the margin, font, or spacing restrictions, or by exceeding the total page limit for a particular volume, will not be evaluated. Pages not evaluated due to violation of the margin, font, or spacing restrictions will not count against the page limitations. The page count will be determined by counting the pages in the order they appear in the print layout view.

1. File Packaging: All of the quotation files shall be submitted individually by Volume. Compressed (zipped) files will NOT be accepted.

1. Content Requirements: All information shall be confined to the appropriate file. The contractor shall confine submissions to essential matters, sufficient to define the quotation and provide an adequate basis for evaluation. Vendors are responsible for including sufficient details, in a concise manner, to permit a complete and accurate evaluation of each quoter. Your Quote should contain your best terms, including pricing.

1. The contractor’s quote shall consist of the following four (4) volumes:

1) Volume 1: Technical Approach

2) Volume 2: Past Performance

3) Volume 3: Price

4) Volume 4: Certifications, Quoter Imposed Terms and Conditions, and other Documents

Quotes submitted in response to this solicitation shall adhere to the naming and page limitations provided below:

(up to 2 pages per example)

The cover page, table of contents, and/or a glossary of abbreviations or acronyms will not be included in the page count of any Volume. Vendors are advised that any and all information contained within any Table of Contents and/ or glossary of abbreviations or acronyms submitted with a vendor’s quotation will not be evaluated by the Government.

1. Volume Specifics:

1. VOLUME I - TECHNICAL APPROACH

Under no circumstances shall any pricing be included in the Technical Approach.

The quoter shall submit a Technical Approach Volume that includes:

1. Description of facility meeting the SOW requirements identified in 6.1-6.2:

1. Names and addresses of conference or hotel meeting sites not more than 30-minute drive by bus (note that SOW requires 4 sites).

1. Name and location of all Regional and International Airports within 50 miles of proposed facility.

1. Description of proposed venue with rooms/space meeting the requirements of the SOW:

0. (2) Briefing Rooms able to comfortably hold up to a minimum of 40 people seated (see 6.2.1)

0. (12) Minimum of 12 and up to 18 Clinical Examination Rooms (see 6.2.2)

0. (1) General Purpose Meeting room able to comfortably hold up to 20 people seated. (see 6.3)

0. Description of known facility availability for scheduled events and level of control over facility schedule (Does contractor have direct control, or is quoting contractor subject to facility decisions on schedule?)

0. If no direct control over proposed facility, a letter of commitment from the facility confirming its commitment to the contractor to support in good faith, the execution of contract requirements at the price proposed by the quoter.

1. Approach to ensuring availability and contribution of appropriate number of qualified and anatomically correct (per 6.9) GTAs for the two-day training sessions. (See 6.5 - 6.12). Describe source/pool of resources, any training, qualifications, etc.

1. VOLUME II – PAST PERFORMANCE

Past performance is a measure of the degree to which a Contractor satisfied its customers in the past and complied with Federal, State, and local laws and regulations.

The quoter shall submit a past performance narrative, describing the quoter’s (up to) two most relevant contracts performed within the past 5 years. For this volume, relevance refers to size, scope and complexity of performance as compared to the requirements identifies within the SOW of this solicitation. Both provision of facility/space for live medical training events and provision of personnel/resources (like GTAs) are considered material aspects of the WHMR requirement.

Within the narrative description, please provide:

1. Contract/ task order/ agreement number

1. Customer point of contact/ phone number/ email address

1. Period of performance

1. Dollar value of the contract

1. Description of the services provided to the customer, challenges quoter overcame, and highlights of performance successes.

A Contractor without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available; the Contractor may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. If no past performance available, quoter shall provide a statement similar to: “<Company X> has no relevant past performance to present for this effort.”

1. VOLUME III - PRICE

Quoters shall complete and submit as its Volume III a completed Attachment A – Price/ Cost Schedule Spreadsheet, providing unit and total pricing for the Base and all Option Periods.

1. VOLUME IV–CERTIFICATIONS, QUOTER IMPOSED TERMS AND CONDITIONS, & OTHER DOCUMENTS

This Volume shall contain the following:

a. Authorize Official Certification. An authorized official of the firm shall sign, certifying understanding of initial combined synopsis/solicitation and any amendments issued.

b. Any proposed exceptions to solicitation terms and conditions. Vendors are hereby advised that any Vendor-imposed terms and conditions which deviate from the Government’s material terms and conditions established by the Solicitation, may render the Vendor’s quote Unacceptable, and thus ineligible for award.

c. VIP verification forms (if quoting as SDVOBS/ VOSB or proposing to subcontract to SDVOSB/VOSB), signed Certificate of Compliance as required under VAAR 852.219-77 Deviation (if SDVOSB/ VOSB quoter), or other supplementary documents quoter wishes to submit in support of its quote (note that information outside of the prescribed page limits for each volume may not be evaluated).

B. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

The following Provisions are also incorporated into 52.212-1 as part of the addendum:

52.204-24 REPRESENTATION REGARDING CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT (NOV 2021) The Offeror shall not complete the representation at paragraph (d)(1) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it ‘‘does not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services as a part of its offered products or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract, or other contractual instrument’’ in paragraph (c)(1) in the provision at 52.204–26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services—Representation, or in paragraph (v)(2)(i) of the provision at 52.212–3, Offeror Representations and Certifications–Commercial Products and Commercial Services. The Offeror shall not complete the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it ‘‘does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services’’ in paragraph (c)(2) of the provision at 52.204–26, or in paragraph (v)(2)(ii) of the provision at 52.212–3.

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision— Backhaul, covered telecommunications equipment or services, critical technology, interconnection arrangements, reasonable inquiry, roaming, and substantial or essential component have the meanings provided in the clause 52.204–25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

(b) Prohibition.

(1) Section 889(a)(1)(A) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115–232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2019, from procuring or obtaining, or extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain, any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(2) Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115–232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2020, from entering into a contract or extending or renewing a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. This prohibition applies to the use of covered telecommunications equipment or services, regardless of whether that use is in performance of work under a Federal contract. Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(c) Procedures. The Offeror shall review the list of excluded parties in the System for Award Management (SAM) (https://www.sam.gov) for entities excluded from receiving federal awards for “covered telecommunications equipment or services.”

(d) Representations. The Offeror represents that—

(1) It [ ] will, [ ] will not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract or other contractual instrument resulting from this solicitation. The Offeror shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(1) of this section if the Offeror responds “will’’ in paragraph (d)(1) of this section; and

(2) After conducting a reasonable inquiry, for purposes of this representation, the Offeror represents that— It [ ] does, [ ] does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or use any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services. The Offeror shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(2) of this section if the Offeror responds “does’’ in paragraph (d)(2) of this section.

(e) Disclosures.

(1) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded “will’’ in the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the Product Service Code (PSC) of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(2) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded “does’’ in the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the OEM or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the PSC of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

(End of Provision)

52.209-7 INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2018)

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision— "Administrative proceeding" means a non-judicial process that is adjudicatory in nature in order to make a determination of fault or liability (e.g., Securities and Exchange Commission Administrative Proceedings, Civilian Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings, and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals Proceedings). This includes administrative proceedings at the Federal and State level but only in connection with performance of a Federal contract or grant. It does not include agency actions such as contract audits, site visits, corrective plans, or inspection of deliverables.

"Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000" means—

(1) The total value of all current, active contracts and grants, including all priced options; and

(2) The total value of all current, active orders including all priced options under indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, 8(a), or requirements contracts (including task and delivery and multiple-award Schedules).

"Principal" means an officer, director, owner, partner, or a person having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., general manager; plant manager; head of a division or business segment; and similar positions).

(b) The offeror [ ] has [ ] does not have current active Federal contracts and grants with total value greater than $10,000,000.

(c) If the offeror checked "has" in paragraph (b) of this provision, the offeror represents, by submission of this offer, that the information it has entered in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) is current, accurate, and complete as of the date of submission of this offer with regard to the following information:

(1) Whether the offeror, and/or any of its principals, has or has not, within the last five years, in connection with the award to or performance by the offeror of a Federal contract or grant, been the subject of a proceeding, at the Federal or State level that resulted in any of the following dispositions:

(i) In a criminal proceeding, a conviction.

(ii) In a civil proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in the payment of a monetary fine, penalty, reimbursement, restitution, or damages of $5,000 or more.

(iii) In an administrative proceeding, a finding of fault and liability that results in—

(A) The payment of a monetary fine or penalty of $5,000 or more; or

(B) The payment of a reimbursement, restitution, or damages in excess of $100,000.

(iv) In a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, a disposition of the matter by consent or compromise with an acknowledgment of fault by the Contractor if the proceeding could have led to any of the outcomes specified in paragraphs (c)(1)(i), (c)(1)(ii), or (c)(1)(iii) of this provision.

(2) If the offeror has been involved in the last five years in any of the occurrences listed in (c)(1) of this provision, whether the offeror has provided the requested information with regard to each occurrence.

(d) The offeror shall post the information in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (c)(1)(iv) of this provision in FAPIIS as required through maintaining an active registration in the System for Award Management, which can be accessed via https://www.sam.gov (see 52.204-7).

(End of Provision)

52.216-1 TYPE OF CONTRACT (APR 1984)

The Government contemplates award of a Firm-Fixed-Price contract resulting from this solicitation.

(End of Provision)

52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

(a) Protests, as defined in section 33.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, that are filed directly with an agency, and copies of any protests that are filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), shall be served on the Contracting Officer (addressed as follows) by obtaining written and dated acknowledgment of receipt from:

Hand-Carried Address:

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OPAL | Strategic Acquisition Center - F 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick MD 21703

Mailing Address:

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs OPAL | Strategic Acquisition Center - F 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick MD 21703

(b) The copy of any protest shall be received in the office designated above within one day of filing a protest with the GAO.

(End of Provision)

52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es):

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/index.html http://www.va.gov/oal/library/vaar/

(End of Provision)

*************************END OF ADDENDA TO 52.212-1*************************

1. APPLICABILITY OF PROVISION 52.212-2

The evaluation will be conducted using the procedures in FAR 13.106-2 and provision at FAR 52.212-2 as applied to tiered evaluations.

Paragraph (a) of this provision at 52.212-2 is as follows:

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible quoter whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered.

A. BASIS FOR AWARD

Eligibility--Tiered evaluations concerns (SDVOSB, VOSB, Small Businesses, then Large Business) are applicable to this procurement. See C. EVALUATION APPROACH below.

This requirement is being solicited using FAR Part 13.5 Simplified Procedures. The award resulting from this solicitation will be made based on the best overall quotation that is determined to be the most beneficial to the Government (i.e., best value). For each quote received, the Government will evaluate Technical Approach, Past Performance, and Price. Technical Approach is more important than Past Performance. When combined, these non-price factors are collectively more important than Price.

The Contracting Officer will use a best value, trade-off approach to select the final awardee. It should be noted that award may be made to other than the lowest priced contractor, if the Government determines that a price premium is warranted due to merits of one or more of the non-price factors. Merits could include proximity to airports, number and quality of hotel sites within bus driving distance, suitability and benefits of proposed venue, degree of control over venue availability, low risk plan for staffing GTAs for scheduled events, and highly relevant past performance. (These things would increase Government confidence and/or exceed Government requirements to the benefit of the Program.)

Contents of the written quotations will be evaluated to determine the degree and extent to which the requirements set forth in the RFQ are satisfied. Failure to fully meet a material requirement (or Technical Approach that result in low Government confidence[footnoteRef:1]) will render a quotation unacceptable, thus ineligible for award. [1: If the Government has low confidence in all quoters within a given tier, the Government will determine whether it is in its best interest to make no award in the tier and move to the next tier.]

AWARD ON INITIAL RESPONSES

The Government reserves the right to award with or without further communication and subsequent quotation revisions based upon the initial evaluation of quotes. As such, quoters are encouraged to submit initially their best quote.

CONFIDENCE RATINGS

In conducting its evaluations of all non-price factors, the Government will assess its level of confidence in the quoter—that the quoter understands the requirements, proposes a sound approach, and will be successful in performing contract requirements with little Government intervention.

Documentation of relative strengths, deficiencies, significant weaknesses, and risks is not required for this TOPR (although items typically categorized as such may increase or decrease Government confidence). Items that increase or decrease confidence (as well as the degree to which they do so) will be captured and viewed in totality to develop the Government’s confidence rating (High/Low/Some for example).

B. FACTORS TO BE EVALUATED

A best value, trade-off approach will be used to select the awardee based upon the following evaluation factors:

Non-Price Factors (in descending order importance):

Price Factor:

3. Price

C. EVALUATION APPROACH

EVALUATION APPROACH

(Tiered evaluations)

All quotations shall be subject to evaluation by a team of Government personnel. Any quoters that do not meet the following criteria will be eliminated from consideration:

1. (Tier 1 and Tier 2 Offers) All SDVOSB concerns and VOSB concerns must be Vet-Biz Verified at the time of quotation submission and registers and small in SAM under NAICS code 611430 (as determined through quoter’s Reps & Certs) to qualify for Tier 1 and Tier 2, respectively, following SBA guidelines for certification as a small business. Quoters are solely responsible for obtaining Vet-Biz verification. The contracting officer will not intervene with Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) regarding the processing of applications. Quoter must not be barred, debarred, or suspended to qualify.

2. (Tier 3 Offers) All Small Businesses must be registered and small in SAM under NAICS code 611430 (as determined through quoter’s Reps & Certs) to qualify for Tier 3, following SBA guidelines for certification as a small business. Quoter must not be barred, debarred, or suspended to qualify.

3. (Tier 4 Offers) All Large Businesses (Other than Small Businesses) must be registered in SAM and not be barred, debarred, or suspended to qualify.

After this initial assessment, quotations from qualified quoters will be evaluated using a tiered approach based on an order of priority as established in 38 U.S.C. 8127. The review will consist of four tiers. The tiers are defined as follows:

Tier 1 - Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns Tier 2 - Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Concerns Tier 3 - Small Business Concerns with HUBZone and 8(A) Participants Having Priority.

Tier 4 - Other than Small Businesses

Each tier represents a distinct set‐aside and will be evaluated in isolation.

I. Tier 1 quotations will be evaluated first. After review of Tier 1 quotations, if award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States (in the judgement of the Contracting Officer), no additional tiers will be reviewed. If no offers are submitted at Tier 1 or if none of the Tier 1 quotations would result in award at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States, the Government will evaluate Tier 2 quotations for award. The Government will relax SDVOSB Set-aside and evaluate Tier 2 quotations.

II. After review of Tier 2 quotations (if needed), if award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States (in the judgement of the Contracting Officer), no additional tiers will be reviewed. If no offers are submitted at Tier 2 or if none of the Tier 2 quotations would result in award at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States, the Government will evaluate Tier 3 quotations for award. The Government will relax VOSB Set-aside and evaluate Tier 3 quotations.

III. After review of Tier 3 quotations (if needed), if award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States (in the judgement of the Contracting Officer), no additional tiers will be reviewed. If no offers are submitted at Tier 3 or if none of the Tier 3 quotations would result in award at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States, the Government will evaluate Tier 4 quotations for award. The Government will relax Small Businesses Set-aside and evaluate Tier 4 quotations.

IV. If no offers are submitted at Tier 4 or if none of the Tier 4 quotations would result in award at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States, solicitation will be cancelled, and the requirement resolicited.

If only one quote is received and evaluated in a tier, the Contracting Officer may (NOT MUST) award to that quoter if the quotation meets the requirements of the solicitation and the proposed price is fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR § 19.502-2, VAAR § 819.7005, VAAR § 819.7006(c). If the quotation does not meet the requirements of the solicitation or the proposed price is not fair and reasonable in accordance with FAR § 19.502-2, VAAR § 819.7005, VAAR § 819.7006(c), the CO will evaluate quotations received at the next tier.

The quotes will be evaluated strictly in accordance with their written content. Quotations which merely restate the requirement or state that the requirement will be met, without providing supporting rationale, are not sufficient and will be rated Unsatisfactory and thus, ineligible for award.

The quotations will be evaluated for Technical Approach, Past Performance, and Price as follows:

A. TECHNICAL APPROACH

The Government will evaluate Technical Approach as follows:

The written technical approach will be evaluated to determine Government confidence based on the degree to which the Quoter’s quote fulfills all requirements of the SOW. Evaluators may consider venue quality and availability, methodology, resource pool, risks, and other elements when evaluating and determining its confidence in the approach.

B. PAST PERFORMANCE

The Government will evaluate past performance and determine its confidence in the quoter based on the relevance and quality of work performed in the past. The evaluation will only consider performance examples which are timely (defined as services performed within the last five years) and relevant (defined as services which, when considered as a whole, meet much of the size, scope and/or complexity compared to the PWS of this requirement). The Government will consider past performance for the prime Contractor to be significantly more important than past performance submitted for any other member of the Contractor structure. For the purposes of evaluating prime Contractor past performance, the prime Contractor is defined as the Contractor submitting the quote. Projects performed by Contractors other than the prime Contractor, such as teaming partners or subcontractors, will not be evaluated as prime Contractor experience or past performance, unless those other Contractors are part of a joint venture Contractor.

C. PRICE

The Government will evaluate price to determine whether it is fair and reasonable. The Government may use any available technique it chooses to determine price reasonableness (but will consistently apply its chosen methodology across all quotations).

In its price evaluation, the Government reserves the right to open price volumes only of quoters in any tier and use that pricing as data for comparative purposes (even if that tier has not yet been opened for full evaluation). In the same manner, pricing from previously evaluated tiers may be referenced (even if award in not made within that tier).

D. CERTIFICATIONS, QUOTER IMPOSED TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS

Will not be evaluated as an evaluation factor, buy may be used to determine responsiveness and eligibility.

**********************END OF 52.212-2, Paragraph (a) *********************

ix. REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS Quoters are advised to include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items, with its quote if it does not wish to have the Government rely on its Representations and Certifications in SAM. If submitting Reps and Certs, Quoter should submit a separate volume (V) from the information requested above.

x. APPLICABILITY OF CLAUSE 52.212-4 The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Addenda to the clause are as follows:

Paragraph 52.212-4(g) is supplemented with the following Contract Administration Data (fill-ins to be completed at time of award):

***CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA***

(Continuation from Standard Form 1449, block 18A.)

1. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

a. CONTRACTOR: __________________

UEI: ____________

TIN: ______________

CAGE: ____________

Department of Veterans Affairs 5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick MD 21703

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

5. INVOICING INSTRUCTIONS

*** The IFCAP Purchase Order number: [_____________] MUST be included on all invoices.

*** The Contract/Order number: [_____________________] MUST be included on all invoices.

TUNGSTEN (fka OB10) ELECTRONIC INVOICE SUBMISSION FSC e-INVOICE PROGRAM THRU AUSTIN PORTAL

FSC MANDATORY ELECTRONIC INVOICE SUBMISSION FOR AUSTIN PAYMENTS

COR (Contracting Officers Representative): ____________________________

Vendor Electronic Invoice Submission Methods:

Fax, email and scanned documents are not acceptable forms of submission for payment requests. Electronic form means an automated system transmitting information electronically according to the accepted data transmissions below.

· VA’s Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System – The Financial Services Center (FSC) in Austin, TX uses a third-party contractor, Tungsten, to transition vendors from paper to electronic invoice submission. Please go to this website: http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ to begin submitting electronic invoices, free of charge.

· A system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) formats established by the Accredited Standards Center (ASC) chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The X12 EDI Web site is http://www.x12.org.

Vendor e-invoice Set-up information:

Please contact Tungsten at the phone number or email address listed below to begin submitting your electronic invoices to the VA Financial Services Center in Austin, TX for payment processing. If you have questions about the payment status of a properly submitted invoice, the e-invoicing program, or Tungsten, please contact the FSC at the phone number or email address listed below.

· Tungsten e-Invoice setup information: 1-877-489-6135

· Tungsten e-Invoice email: VA.Registration@tungsten-network.com

· VA TUNGSTEN Number: AAA544240062

· FSC e-Invoice contact information: 1-877-353-9791

· FSC e-Invoice email: vafsccshd@va.gov

· http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp

COMMUNICATIONS:

· https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/11/27/2012-28612/va-acquisition-regulation-electronic-submission-of-payment-requests

· http://fcw.com/articles/2012/11/27/va-epayments.aspx?s=fcwdaily

******************** End supplement to Paragraph 52.212-4(g) ********************

52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days.

(End of Clause)

52.217-9 OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT (MAR 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days; provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 30 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed five and one half (5.5) years.

(End of Clause)

52.204-27 PROHIBITION ON A BYTEDANCE COVERED APPLICATION (JUN 2023)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Covered application means the social networking service TikTok or any successor application or service developed or provided by ByteDance Limited or an entity owned by ByteDance Limited.

Information technology, as defined in 40 U.S.C. 11101(6)—

(1) Means any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, used in the automatic acquisition, storage, analysis, evaluation, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information by the executive agency, if the equipment is used by the executive agency directly or is used by a contractor under a contract with the executive agency that requires the use—

(i) Of that equipment; or

(ii) Of that equipment to a significant extent in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product;

(2) Includes computers, ancillary equipment (including imaging peripherals, input, output, and storage devices necessary for security and surveillance), peripheral equipment designed to be controlled by the central processing unit of a computer, software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources; but

(3) Does not include any equipment acquired by a Federal contractor incidental to a Federal contract.

(b) Prohibition. Section 102 of Division R of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Pub. L. 117-328), the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, and its implementing guidance under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-23-13, dated February 27, 2023, “No TikTok on Government Devices” Implementation Guidance, collectively prohibit the presence or use of a covered application on executive agency information technology, including certain equipment used by Federal contractors. The Contractor is prohibited from having or using a covered application on any information technology owned or managed by the Government, or on any information technology used or provided by the Contractor under this contract, including equipment provided by the Contractor’s employees; however, this prohibition does not apply if the Contracting Officer provides written notification to the Contractor that an exception has been granted in accordance with OMB Memorandum M-23-13.

(c) Subcontracts. The Contractor shall insert the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (c), in all subcontracts, including subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services.

(End of clause)

VAAR 852.215-70 SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED AND VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS EVALUATION FACTORS As prescribed in 815.304-71(a), insert the following clause:

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Evaluation Factors (OCT 2019)

(a) In an effort to achieve socioeconomic small business goals, VA shall evaluate offerors based on their service-disabled veteran-owned or veteran-owned small business status and their proposed use of eligible service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) and veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) as subcontractors.

(b) Eligible service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses offerors will receive full credit, and offerors qualifying as veteran-owned small businesses will receive partial credit for the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Business Status evaluation factor. To receive credit, an offeror must be registered and verified in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database.

(c) Non-Veteran offerors proposing to use SDVOSBs or VOSBs as subcontractors will receive some consideration under this evaluation factor. Offerors must state in their proposals the names of the SDVOSBs and VOSBs with whom they intend to subcontract and provide a brief description of the proposed subcontracts and the approximate dollar values of the proposed subcontracts. In addition, the proposed subcontractors must be registered and verified in the VIP database.

(d) Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 8127(g), any business concern that is determined by VA to have willfully and intentionally misrepresented a company's SDVOSB/VOSB status is subject to debarment for a period of not less than five years. This includes the debarment of all principals in the business.

(End of clause)

VAAR 852.219-74 LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING—MONITORING AND COMPLIANCE (JUL 2018)

(a) This solicitation includes VAAR 852.219-10 VA Notice of Total Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Set-Aside.

(b) Accordingly, any contract resulting from this solicitation is subject to the limitation on subcontracting requirements in 13 CFR 125.6, or the limitations on subcontracting requirements in the FAR clause, as applicable. The Contractor is advised that in performing contract administration functions, the Contracting Officer may use the services of a support contractor(s) retained by VA to assist in assessing the Contractor's compliance with the limitations on subcontracting or percentage of work performance requirements specified in the clause. To that end, the support contractor(s) may require access to Contractor's offices where the Contractor's business records or other proprietary data are retained and to review such business records regarding the Contractor's compliance with this requirement.

(c) All support contractors conducting this review on behalf of VA will be required to sign an “Information Protection and Non-Disclosure and Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest Agreement” to ensure the Contractor's business records or other proprietary data reviewed or obtained in the course of assisting the Contracting Officer in assessing the Contractor for compliance are protected to ensure information or data is not improperly disclosed or other impropriety occurs.

(d) Furthermore, if VA determines any services the support contractor(s) will perform in assessing compliance are advisory and assistance services as defined in FAR 2.101, Definitions, the support contractor(s) must also enter into an agreement with the Contractor to protect proprietary information as required by FAR 9.505-4, Obtaining access to proprietary information, paragraph (b). The Contractor is required to cooperate fully and make available any records as may be required to enable the Contracting Officer to assess the Contractor's compliance with the limitations on subcontracting or percentage of work performance requirement.

(End of Clause)

VAAR 852.219-75 VA NOTICE OF LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING—CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE FOR SERVICES AND CONSTRUCTION (NOV 2022)

(a) Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 8127(k)(2), the offeror certifies that -

(1) If awarded a contract (see FAR 2.101 definition), it will comply with the limitations on subcontracting requirement as provided in the solicitation and the resultant contract, as follows: [Contracting Officer check the appropriate box below based on the predominant NAICS code assigned to the instant acquisition as set forth in FAR 19.102.]

(i) [X] Services. In the case of a contract for services (except construction), the contractor will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to it to firms that are not VIP-listed SDVOSBs as set forth in 852.219-73 or VOSBs as set forth in 852.219-74.